Chapter 196
The night Celestine vanished, Chester began investigating the real reason behind her abduction.
When the evidence ultimately pointed to his youngest daughter, he found himself at a loss for words as he looked at the child, already sobbing so hard she’d fainted.
Later, when Celia woke up crying in his arms and asked, “Daddy, have you found Mommy yet?”
Chester simply couldn’t bring himself to say anything harsh. The girl was already heartbroken.
If Celestine really was gone, he couldn’t bear for her daughter to live with that knowledge.
He forced himself to stay calm, locking down all information related to the incident. For the children’s sake, only the immediate Fordham family knew what had really happened.
Luther patted Pete on the shoulder, then looked gravely at Chester. “I’m taking both children back to the Selwyn estate.”
At those words, Dahlia’s barely contained anger finally exploded. “And why is that, exactly? Do you think the Fordhams are all dead and buried? Those kids are Fordhams–not Selwyns! Forgive my bluntness, but your poor, doomed granddaughter never got to enjoy life, and now you want to drag my precious grandkids off to that drafty old house to suffer with her? Absolutely not!”
Chester kept his gaze down, silent. But that silence made his stance perfectly clear. For once, Alistair didn’t take sides. He just said, “Mr. Selwyn, at the very least, maybe we should ask the children what they want.”
Raymond and Celia were brought from the family home to the hospital.
When Luther saw them, he seemed lost in thought for a long time. Finally, his stern expression softened.
“Celia, Raymond,” he said gently.
The two children stood close to Chester, timidly greeting him. “Hello, Grandpa
They’d been raised in the Fordham household and rarely saw Luther.
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Every year when Celestine visited the Selwyns, her children never wanted to go with her.
Over time, their memories of Luther faded until, if Chester hadn’t explained who he was, they probably wouldn’t have recognized him at all.
Dahlia snorted. “Raymond, Celia, your grandpa here wants to take you back to that lonely Selwyn house, so you can spend the rest of your lives honoring your mother’s memory. Is that what you want?”
The moment they heard the word “dead,” both children burst into tears.
“Mommy’s not dead! She’s not! I don’t want to go to Grandpa’s house–I want Daddy,
I want Mommy!” Celia’s sobs grew louder, her words desperate.
What happened to Celestine had shaken her deeply.
These past days, she’d clung to the hope that if they hadn’t found her mother’s body, then she couldn’t be dead.
As long as there was no proof, she hadn’t killed her mother–she wasn’t the reason for it all.
She was terrified that someone else would find out what happened.
But her father had promised her: only the family would ever know.
He told her not to be afraid.
Now that her mother was gone, her father was all she had left.
She wasn’t about to leave him for some distant grandparent in a strange old house–especially since Mom wasn’t dead! She refused to mourn her.
Compared to Celia’s outburst, Raymond’s tears were quieter, more suppressed.
Everyone kept assuring them their mother was fine.
But he’d secretly looked up what happens to people lost at sea. In waters that deep and dangerous, with sharks and currents, survival was basically impossible.
Mom was already gone.
They just hadn’t found her body.
Everyone was lying to him and his sister.
Now their grandfather wanted to take them back to the house where his mother had grown up–a place surely filled with memories of her.
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Chapter 196
He missed his mom so much, but he was terrified to see any reminders of her, afraid it would feel like she was right there, watching.
And after everything he’d done, after the way he’d wronged her before she disappeared, she hadn’t even gotten the chance to forgive him.
He was haunted by the thought of seeing her disappointed face again. He couldn’t
bear it.
When Celia refused, Luther’s face flashed with shock and disappointment.
But he didn’t blame the children. Instead, he turned to Raymond, his voice gentle and almost pleading. “Raymond, would you like to come home with me?”
